Fire alarm in a public building: how do people evaluate information and choose an evacuation exit?

Abstract

How people react to a fire alarm has been studied in retrospect as well as in experiments. In the present study, the choice of exit was examined with respect to the distance to exits and open or closed emergency exit. The second part deals with some communication aspects regarding identification of signs. It is shown that the subjects prefer a familiar ordinary cash exit even if the distance to that exit is longer than to the nearest emergency exit. However, if the emergency exit is open and the subjects can see the outside, an emergency exit becomes more attractive and most of the subjects choose the emergency exit. The understanding of signs important in a fire evacuation situation is very good. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.